Somebody More LIke You
by Daelena
Summary: When he showed up on her doorstep, sorrow in his eyes and regret on his face, this was not the path she thought their relationship would take. Post-Season 8.


Somebody More Like You

_Disclaimer__: I don't own anything. I'm just playing in this sandbox._

_I had this story pop into my head at work and it wouldn't leave until I put pen to paper, so to speak. Thus, I present this little idea of what life could be like for Jody and Crowley, post-season 8. (Note: this takes place with absolutely no knowledge of what happens in season 9 and without the explicit confirmation about whether or not Jody is actually alive.)_

_I apologize of characters seem a little OOC._

_So, please enjoy._

He shows up at her doorstep two days after she was released from the hospital, all sad eyes, hunched shoulders, and regretful expression.

She has no reason to trust him, to forgive him, to speak to him, or to let him into her life or her house. The only reason Jody doesn't slam the door in his face is because of the fact that Sam and Dean are there as well. Something in their faces tells her that the three of them are there for a reason and they won't leave until she's at least heard him out.

Jody's no idiot.

After being around Bobby (God rest his soul) and the Winchesters as long as she has been, Jody knows when to be cautious. That being said, she makes it very clear that she's not taking any chances and purposefully leaves her shotgun in plain sight as she steps out onto the porch.

Dean and Sam keep a respectful distance, though still close enough that they'll be there in seconds, if she should need them. One look into his eyes tells her she probably won't need that back-up, but it's still nice to know.

And then he tells her – everything.

He tells her about who – what – he really is, what his position in Hell is (or _was_ since there's apparently there's been some kind of uprising down there and he got kicked out). He tells her why he did what he did, lured her on, and then used her.

Oh, Jody's pissed as hell when she finds out that he used her simply to get to the Winchesters. She's never quite said it in so many words, but those two boys are family.

It takes a lot to keep from punching him the gut, but Jody restrains herself. Barely, at first, but then with greater force, once he starts to tell her what Sam did to him, what the Winchesters had been so close to finishing, that's he's a demon with the consciousness, regret, and heart of a human. He admits, with so much sorrow in his eyes, that he's done so much wrong and he'll probably never be able to clean up that newly-gotten conscious enough to be able to live at peace with himself.

Jody knows he's telling the truth.

She knows how to read people and it's all over him – in his voice, his eyes, his posture. His emotions are so close to the surface right now.

And the Winchesters are there to back him up.

He'd been wanting to come clean to her ever since Sam almost made him human, had wanted to beg for forgiveness that he knew she'd never give. It took him days to win both of them over, but they agreed to make the trip – not for his sake, but because they needed to see her. They needed to know she was alive and not on their too-long list of people they let into their lives and their hearts, only to have ripped away too soon.

It takes the rest of the day for her to get the whole story out of them and the four of them end up in her kitchen, drinking far more than any of them should, especially her, but the doctors won't know and she's on a medical leave from work anyway.

Sam looks like hell, she decides, and Dean's obviously worrying up a storm about Cas. They had yet to hear from the angel and it's very apparent that Dean didn't know if he was dead, alive, still an angel, or a human with or without his angelic memories. Jody's not an idiot and she can tell that this isn't the first time that Dean believes that Cas is dead.

Next morning, the boys take their leave and tell her they're heading back to some bunker out in the middle of nowhere. She doesn't want to know where, just to keep them safe and for plausible deniability, though she makes sure to get them to promise to call and visit regularly. She can't help it if she worries about them. Those two haven't had it easy and the loss of Bobby is still too fresh.

He stays.

Not with her, but he did ask her permission to stay in town. It's clear that he's genuinely sincere about making things right between them. Roger Crowley has no criminal record, so she has no reason to lock him up – yet.

Because she doesn't trust him and there are some things that he's done that can't be forgiven.

Days pass and she starts to mend.

He comes by nearly every day and does work around her property that she can't do quite yet. The yard work is done with practiced ease and overgrown half-acre of land that she's always been meaning to turn into a garden get turned into an oasis. (Jody thinks that there's more to Crowley than he lets on.) He cleans when she lets him into the house, and he cooks. His cleaning abilities are abysmal, but he can cook like it's no one's business.

The Winchesters check in every few days. It's good to hear from them. They've found Castiel and Kevin's still at the bunker.

Poor kid. She's heard his story. He was going to be just another normal, over-achieving genius, who was going to run the world – until Heaven decided that he was better suited to be a Prophet and took that future away from him.

When she's back at work, he has a job, working at the local pet and feed store. This is South Dakota, after all, and the town only has the one store to handle all of their animal needs. The couple who run the store have been doing so for decades and they don't mind hiring a man who said the Sheriff isn't kicking him out of town yet.

She hears, through the grapevine, that the Englishman with the penchant for well-made suits is the sore thumb around people who are used to jeans and work clothes and not being quite as fancy. But he's knows what he's doing and no one doubts his salesmanship. There is, however, a spike in women of various ages interested in animals and Jody knows all too well that they just want to be around the hot man with a gorgeous accent and a put-together look.

Days turn into weeks.

He's loosened up on the dress code. Oh, it's ties and button-downs and vests every day still, but he's lost the suit jacket and it's jeans instead of perfectly-creased trousers. He's exchanged the dress shoes for black boots that work for both businessmen and tradesmen. She's not afraid to admit that he still cuts quite the image.

She's seen plenty of women in town, both married and unattached, flirt with him, given the slightest opportunity. He'll flirt right back.

Jody still keeps a firm grasp on who Crowley is, but she's not opposed to having him for dinner. They take turn cooking, but she's not ashamed to admit he's got more skills in the kitchen than she'll ever have.

It's not a friendship, per se, but it's definitely two people trying to bridge a gap.

He's definitely doing what he can to live as a human, to do right by her, and to stop hurting people. It's hard work because he's still a demon, despite a nearly-completed ritual to heal him and make him a human again.

Talking to him is surprisingly easy, just like on the Date From Hell. He tells her about his life, when he was the King of Hell, the King of the Crossroads, and from when he was just a plain old Scottish farmer. (Scottish, yeah right, though the farmer bit, she'll believe, given what she's seen from him so far.)

The Winchesters have stopped by once and they still call regularly. When they showed up, Cas was in tow. It took two hours and Jody decided that she's got one more boy to worry about. The former angel is all confusion and guilt and anger at being deceived by more than one angel. It's going to take some time to get that story out of him.

Things had gotten a little awkward in that visit. They were checking in on Crowley and Cas, apparently, had issues with the demon.

Jody does get that story out of Crowley after the Impala pulls away.

She ends up hugging the demon tight and he spends the night on her couch because it's late and it's clear to her that he shouldn't be alone.

Weeks turn into months.

He's around the house more and more.

Jody finds that she doesn't mind his presence as much. Oh, she still can't forgive him for certain things, but she's getting damn near close to calling him a friend.

He likes classical music and they swap book titles. His knowledge of movies and television is nil, so Jody takes it upon herself to educate him. They have a regular disagreement over beer and wine and nothing ever gets settled.

She's fully healed now from the physical damage done during the Date From Hell and doesn't think twice about the mostly-human demon laying low in her town.

Crowley still has his admirers, though he's toned down the flirting – except when he's talking to her. Jody's noticed the smiles that he gives solely to her, the certain jokes that he slips in for her own personal amusement because, like it or not, they can match one another wit for with.

Everyone around the station takes pleasure in hinting and nudging at the fact that Crowley has it bad for her. Jody only says it's friendship and that they don't know the whole story. Some of the guys have a betting pool running, apparently.

The Winchesters have been by a few more times, Cas always in tow.

They've brought Kevin along several times as well and Jody can't help her maternal instincts towards the boy. He's lost so much and he needs love.

It's especially awkward when Crowley has a heart-to-heart with Kevin. She makes herself scarce for that one. The Winchesters and Cas are not far behind her. Even outside and drinking beers, they hear Kevin yelling and the silence from Crowley.

After that encounter, once Dean, Sam, Cas, and Kevin have left on another hunting trip, Jody confronts Crowley.

That's when he breaks down completely.

Jody doesn't know how it happened, but she ends up on the floor, cradling him and consoling him. Somehow, they got to the point where all she wanted to do was be there for him as he struggles with all of his regrets and support him as he tries to make up for his atrocious wrongs. She sees the man he's trying to become and she wants him to get there, despite the pitfalls along the way.

The night he broke down in her arms was the night everything changed between them.

Jody knew he was good with his hands, but it's a pleasant surprise to see what those hands can do for pleasurable intents, not painful ones. When it's all said and done, she does not regret having him in her bed. In fact, she enjoys it. She'd forgotten what it's like to fall asleep with a pair of arms holding her close and a warm chest to snuggle into.

The morning after, she discovers that mostly-human demons aren't necessarily the best morning people when they've only had a little sleep (even if said lack of sleep came from nice reasons) and it's before they've had their first cup of Java. He doesn't even budge when her alarm goes off and she pounds it off, grumbling and swearing. It's only by a stroke of luck that she doesn't have to be at the station early and he's not opening the store today.

Since Crowley wasn't moving and, therefore, was in no position to argue the point, Jody takes full advantage of the situation and decides that his shirt is perfect for making coffee in. Once it's on, she's damn sure he's not getting it back.

It's made of pure silk and smells like him. Jody likes it.

He's propping himself up in the bed when she returns with coffee and two bagels slathered with cream cheese. Jody notices the way that one of his eyebrows arches at her when he recognizes his shirt on her. A lecherous smile soon finds its way across his lips.

"Now that I've got you in my bed, your clothes belong to me now," she tells him, quite matter-of-factly and he doesn't disagree.

And so, whenever he spends the night at her place, she always ends up being the one who makes coffee in the morning – and his shirts have a habit of making it onto her, as a result.

Jody finds that she likes this change between them.

She doesn't know if it's love, at least not what she had previously defined as love, but it's definitely more than friendship. He's in her life, one way or another. Neither one of them are willing to define them as "dating."

Her life took a turn for the weird when she found out about the supernatural world and lost her husband and son. She hadn't wanted to bring any potential future boyfriend or spouse into this world, knowing the things that she did. Maybe becoming friends with Bobby Singer and Sam and Dean Winchester had made her more cautious, but Jody knew that she liked having Crowley in her life and that could handle the supernatural better than she could.

The first time the Winchesters come to visit after this, they pick up on the change. Cas doesn't, at least not at first. Jody tells them that whatever's going on between her and Crowley, it's natural as can be. That doesn't necessarily sit well with them, but, after seeing the changes in Crowley, they don't question it, though she knows that they're going to keep a closer eye on the both of them now.

More months pass.

Crowley's moved in by now. One way or another, he's not paying rent on some tiny apartment somewhere and she's got a permanent house-mate who happens to be something akin to a significant other.

Things have been blessedly quiet around Sioux Falls, South Dakota, some combination of Jody's watchful eye, Crowley's occasional hunt, and regular visits by the Winchesters.

They haven't said anything in town about their relationship. Crowley still gets plenty of female admirers, though Jody is always amused whenever he tells her stories from the store. He has such pride in his voice, though she can tell he wants to let everyone know that he's hers and she's his.

Those are his words, admitted quietly one night.

Jody finds that she likes that descriptor of what they have. It's simple, uncomplicated, and complete.

Now, she can't imagine having anyone other than him. As crazy as it sounds, she doesn't want anyone other than the demon who had tried to kill her the first time they met. A therapist would have a field day with her for that, but Jody doesn't particularly care.

It's not long after, when she's cooking them breakfast, one lazy Sunday morning, wearing only his shirt and an apron, that she tells him that she thinks she might love him. His arms around her waist seconds later and a kiss on the cheek tell her that he feels the exact same way.

Of course, the next day, when an arrangement of roses show up at the station shortly after lunch, Jody's pretty sure he can't help showing off. She doesn't mind, not even when everyone started teasing her for bagging the Englishman (as they still teasingly called him). She even laughs when she sees her favorite of his ties tied around the base of the vase.

"You already claimed my shirts," the attached note read, "now I give you my ties as a gesture of love and good faith."

She's got the tie and one of his shirts on when she gets dinner started. When he gets home and walks into the kitchen, she turns to him and she knows that he sees what she's wearing – and that he likes what he sees.

Later on, when they're curled up around one another, Jody muses that she and Crowley aren't a particularly traditional pair and that, by all rights, they shouldn't even be together. She finds that she doesn't care and knowing that they have a love of some kind is good enough for her.

_Well, that's that. I hope you all liked it. Please review and let me know what you think._


End file.
